Andy Savva stresses the importance of continual training and development, urging garage owners to look beyond the short-term.
In this month’s article, I would like to share my views on training. During my 30-odd years in the automotive industry, I have noticed a lack of training and development in most organisations due to the short-term outlook of the British garage owner, whether franchised or independent. However, I also believe it’s due to an insufficient understanding of how training and development, particularly of technical staff, relates directly to the efficiency and profitability of the business.
Andy Savva is a former multiple independent garage owner who boasts over 30 years’ experience in the automotive repair sector. In every issue of PMM he’ll be sharing his advice with workshop owners who want to improve their business’ bottom line, but simply don’t know how to go about it.
I have always maintained the continual training and development of all my past teams as a way of generating improvement in productivity, quality, motivation and retention, to name a few of the key reasons. The benefits hugely outweigh the cost.
I discovered early on in this industry that my learning experiences enhanced my knowledge, skills, values and behaviour. To this day, I continue to develop my skills and hone my knowledge, continually learning and striving for perfection, even though I know I will never achieve it. That’s the attitude I carried with me in all my previous garage businesses and throughout all other aspects of my life.
Have you ever heard or seen statements like ‘fully trained technicians’ or ‘fully equipped workshop’? What do these mean? How can anyone quantify ‘fully’? I certainly can’t!
You can never be fully trained in the automotive industry. Modern vehicle technology continues to advance at such a pace that vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated machines. Technicians today are more like software programming engineers, and therefore must possess mechanical, diagnostic and communication skills, whilst also having solid work practices, taking pride in their work and being able to learn on the job.
Many franchised and independent service businesses would claim to employ these kinds of individuals. Well I beg to differ, because all I see and hear throughout the automotive sector is the struggle and challenge of finding and recruiting competent technicians, let alone ‘fully skilled’ ones.
As garage owners, we must be honest with ourselves, look at the services we are offering in our businesses and make sure we first recruit individuals who have knowledge and experience in those sectors. Secondly, we must quickly understand the strengths and weaknesses of that individual and, together, create a training and development plan aligned to the services and objectives of the business. Training should not be ad hoc, it needs to be structured and strategic.
There has never been a better time in the independent sector to access such a wide range of training and support programmes. From specific diagnostic experts, such as Frank Massey, James Dillion and Peter Coombes, to parts suppliers like Andrew Page and The Parts Alliance, or from our professional body the IMI, to OE parts manufacturers like Bosch, ZF Services and Schaeffler, all willingly share a wealth of knowledge and expertise with anyone driven enough to look for it. Many of these programmes are inexpensive, with many more being totally free, in order to encourage and incentivise technicians to attend.
What I am saying here is that there is no excuse!
At Brunswick Garage, we had a philosophy of continued training and development for our team members, particularly in the field of diagnostics. 20 years ago, a vehicle would consist of around 7-8 control units, but how things have changed. These days they can have anything up 100 control units. Our training was a combination of aftermarket training from ZF, Bosch and Schaeffler, to specific brand training from BMW, Land Rover and VW-Audi.
However, it’s important to emphasise that this training was focused on the services we offered. It gave us a unique and competitive edge within our local marketplace and beyond. More importantly, it presented the opportunity to charge far more than anyone else and regularly make a profit! Our annual training budget exceeded £35,000 per year, which is unheard of in the independent sector.
I was proud of my team at Brunswick, and what gave me immense pleasure was to see their development during the five years I had the business, as well as the hundreds of happy customers who had their vehicles repaired correctly, promptly and efficiently. This was possible due to our recruitment process, continued training plans, and, of course, having the correct tooling and equipment. I always used to say: “Equipment must never be a substitute for knowledge, it should be an aide.”
For a number of years, I have strongly believed that an independent garage cannot survive offering servicing and repairs for all makes. Vehicle technology and a lack of requisite skill, coupled with the tooling and equipment needed, makes it virtually impossible to run a business successfully under these conditions. The smart garage owner will specialise in a specific brand or two, or focus on a particular area of vehicle design, like steering and suspension, climate control, gearboxes, diesel or petrol engines, etc. This will enable the garage to charge more for that service, which in turn will increase the opportunity to be appreciated and respected by its staff and customers. Perhaps even more importantly, it will ensure the business’ survival in this fast-moving and ever-changing sector.
